European aircraft manufacturer Airbus SAS seemed capable of cleaning the clock of U.S. rival Boeing Co. The devastating volley would be its superjumbo A380 passenger jet, proudly unveiled in a ceremony in France.

Just as important, its division of labor between German, French, Spanish and British production sites symbolized unity among nations that felt they could take on U.S. industry head to head and win.

Wrong. That ceremony launched a major embarrassment for Franco-German Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co.

First of all, it was introducing the world's largest passenger jet, capable of handling 555 passengers at a time, when smaller planes were taking over the market. Second, making parts in so many different plants was asking for trouble.

Once-proud Airbus has become a mess, with chief executives resigning and countries pointing fingers at each other as they howl that they won't close their plants to save costs.

Only one A380 will be delivered next year, not 25 as originally promised. In the final assembly of many components from all over Europe, some key parts didn't fit together. This delay will reduce earnings by $6.1 billion over four years.

Nationalism that has pitted European countries against each other for centuries is again rearing its head. French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are each defending their nation's operations and insisting that job cuts shouldn't focus only on them.

Meanwhile, the revived Boeing has had record sales of its 787 Dreamliner and is likely to pick up additional money by supplying planes to airlines that didn't receive their Airbus A380s as promised.

Investing remains interesting because business turnabouts occur all the time.

The distance between the top and bottom of the heap can be a short one:

-- Who'd have thought Apple Computer Inc. could come up with many new products and a retail store format that would re-establish itself as a cutting-edge company?

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NAVAL STATION NORFOLK — The Navy on Saturday commissioned the USS John Warner, adding a 12th Virginia-class submarine to the fleet and celebrating the legacy of its namesake, the retired senator who was hailed as a statesman.